Rateflats: House hunting made easy
House hunting in Nigeria—especially in Lagos—is often described as stressful, expensive, and filled with regret. Seven out of ten renters experience what’s known as “renter’s remorse.” The process is plagued by hidden costs, poor housing standards, fraud, and lack of transparency.
Rateflats set out to tackle this challenge by creating a digital platform where tenants (current and past) could share reviews about their apartments, giving future seekers clarity and confidence before making one of life’s biggest decisions.
Role
Product Designer
Company
Rateflats
Year
2023
Platform
Website
Stepping Into the Problem
When I first started working on Rateflats, I was struck by one uncomfortable truth: almost everyone I spoke to in Lagos had a painful renting story. In fact, seven out of ten people admitted they regretted at least one apartment they had rented. House hunting was expensive, filled with hidden charges, often frustrating, and usually left tenants feeling tricked. Many were misled by polished property photos or agents’ promises, only to discover water shortages, poor electricity, or safety concerns after moving in.
The more I listened, the clearer the problem became: people were making one of the most important financial and lifestyle decisions of their lives with almost no trustworthy information.
Imagining a Better Way
If we could build a review-driven housing platform, similar to TripAdvisor but for rentals, we could:
01
Empower seekers with transparency.
02
Reduce instances of renter’s remorse.
03
Encourage landlords to improve their properties through feedback.
What Success Would Look Like
For us, success wasn’t just about launching a platform; it was about changing behavior. We decided to measure progress through three lenses:
01
Engagement — were people submitting reviews and searching for apartments regularly? seekers with transparency.
02
Impact — did users feel more confident in their housing decisions?
03
Adoption — could we shift seekers away from depending solely on agents and word-of-mouth?
Listening First: The Research Journey
Before jumping into design, we needed to hear directly from those living this reality. We ran surveys and followed up with one-on-one interviews.
The survey revealed that almost 70% of respondents regretted at least one rental choice. The most common frustrations weren’t just about money, but about trust: hidden charges, misleading property photos, and a lack of reliable information topped the list. Interestingly, over 80% of respondents said they would trust reviews from fellow tenants far more than from agents or landlords.
Interviews gave these numbers a human voice. One tenant told me, “I wish someone had warned me about the flooding before I signed.” Landlords, on the other hand, saw potential value in feedback, recognizing that better transparency could help them attract credible tenants.
From these insights, we mapped out empathy models to capture what tenants see, think, feel, and do during the housing process. The common thread was clear: people craved transparency and reassurance.
Shaping the Design
The design process was iterative and hands-on. There were a few pivotal moments:
01
We opted for star ratings on core housing aspects because users told us they wanted quick snapshots, not long essays.
02
We emphasized anonymity and credibility as dual anchors. Anonymous reviews encouraged honesty, while verified properties and agents reassured seekers.
03
We kept the UI clean and simple, avoiding clutter to ensure trustworthiness wasn’t undermined by design noise.
The visual system leaned into soft neutrals with bold accents for ratings, ensuring that reviews stood out as the centerpiece. The prototype built in Figma captured the entire journey—from searching to rating—and gave stakeholders a tangible sense of how Rateflats would feel.
Hi- Fidelity
With the foundation set, I brought the design to life. Colors, typography, and visuals added trust and clarity, turning the concept into a real, user-friendly experience.
Key Learnings
Looking back, the biggest challenge wasn’t designing the interface—it was designing for trust. Every decision, from anonymity to verification, had to balance honesty with credibility.
What I learned was that good design is often invisible; it’s not about flashy visuals but about creating an environment where users feel safe, understood, and empowered.
👨🏾💻 Let’s build what users will love.
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